Book Review: Isy’s gifts as a comedian shine through in the comic scenes

But what do you do when life has collapsed around you in a sudden heap?

What Jane has done is return North from London, to live with her parents in the village where she grew up.

A big decision that she didn’t really think through in advance. Her parents are happily settled into their retirement years, with church and charades to keep them occupied. Kind in their bossy way, perhaps they’re not as much help to Jane as they might like to think.

Because Jane does need some help. She’s getting overwhelmed by her thoughts as much as her circumstances.

She’s 38 years old and still haunted by her teenage misadventures, never mind managing to deal with her current problems, such as the discovery that her fiancé has been cheating on her. Jane’s mind is constantly working in overdrive and her tendency to be ‘a bit of a worrier’ is getting out of hand.

Will re-inhabiting the place she grew up give Jane the perspective and opportunity to finally break free?

Seemingly, her preferred option would be to avoid dealing with any of her issues, but village life pushes her into friendships that aren’t going to make that an option.

In the background to it all, the derelict hotel that played host to her teenage years is still there, casting its shadow over proceedings. And it’s not only Jane that’s interested in it now.

Isy Suttie’s gifts as a comedian shine through in the comic scenes that are comfortably embedded throughout this well-paced story.

It’s all very believable, these are normal people finding their way through common problems.

Even the warm and funny tone of telling is realistic – it’s the kind of funny that comes after the event, when your most embarrassing mistake is transformed into your finest anecdote. Jane may be trying, but this novel has ease and confidence.